Improved apparatus for aging spirits



vapor to a proper condensing-vessel.

UNITED `.SSTATr-is PATENT OFFICE.

EDMUND L. MORSE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

IMP-ROVED APPARATUS FOR AGING SPIRITS.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 92,633, dated July 13, 1869.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDMUND L. MoRsE, of the city of St. Louis, in the county of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Processes for Purifying and Aging Liquors and Similar Fluids; and I do hereby declare that 'the following is a full and correct description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon.

The object of this invention is to free new and impure liquors from distasteful and deleterious admixtures, and to cause a quickened fermentative or other action tending to aproduction of the essential oils characterizing old and smoothly-ilavored liquors.

The said object I eect by causing a welldistributed-body oi' properly-heated air to enter a suita-ble still or other vessel containing the new liquor, and thus creating a stream of vapor which shall contain the better ingredients of the said liquor, and conveying said It will be plaimtherefore, that said volume of air will extract the more volatile components of the liquor, and at the saine time, by its oxygenizing presence, improve the quality and age of the extractive resultant. t

To enable those herein skilled to make and use my said improvements, I ,will now more fully describe the same, referring to the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure l is a plan; Fig. 2, a longitudinal' elevation; Fig. 3, transverse sectional elevation.

I place the high wines or other impure or imperfectly-rectied liquors in a still, A, of the usual form and material. In order to cause vthe extracting' air-current to properly act upon l c being coiled within said heater, so as to properly heat the air within the coil. The vessel D may be heated by the steam from a steampipe connected with the boiler, or by any other convenient source. The air-pipe c has avalve or stop-cock, c', for regulating or checking the air-feed to the coil in thev heater. From the coil D the air (now heated) passes, by the pipe d, to the still A, and runs to the lower surface of said still, to a horizontal coil, A',

which is perforated, to allow the heated air to rise up through the liquor in said still, carrying with it such volatile hydrocarbons 'as usually constitute the valuable and choice components of ordinary liquors. The vapors thus formed are passed, by the pipe E, out of the top of said still to the condenser F. The

pipe E, when it is contained in said condenser, forms a coil, E', tov give an enlarged surface for the condensing action of the water in said condensing-vessel. In order to keep .the-temperature of the water in the condenser moder tub G, and may be discharged by a vent arranged therefor. In order, however,.that the airand vapor thus accumulating above the liquor'in the tub Gr may not create a pressure to retard the inlow of iluid and vapor by the pipe g to said tub, I connect the said tub with the air-pump B by ,a pipe, H. Thus the pump maybe applied to exhaust said air and vapor. Said pipe H will have a proper stop cock or valve to cut off the connection with the pump B, if desired. It is apparent that when the pump B is operated to exhaust the air and val por from the tub Gr the'reduced pressure thus created will aid the inflow of the fluid and vapor from the pipe g, and also act to draw the vaporized product from the still A, in this manner eifectually aiding the process of extraction there performed by the heated air, and increasing the beneficial eil'ect of the partial vacuum formed by the condensation in the condenser-coilE, During said process the contact heated air withthe vaporized products of liquor acts to cause a vfermentative action, by

which the essential' oils characterizing old The air and non-conliquor are incited and formed, and the action of the air-current here used is thus doubly beneficial. In case it be desired to continue the aging of the resultant liquor here obtained, I pass said liquor to the aging-vessel I. This vessel will be connected with lthe air-receiver C, or directly with the air-pump B, so that air may be supplied thereto. The air thus supplied will be properly distributed in the vessel I by a coiled perforated pipe, or by other means, and in this wise the oxidation of the liquor will be accelerated.

` In the use of devices for performing the processes aforesaid, I do not' confine myself to coils alone for giving an extended surface, but perforated diaphragms or other similar devices may be used.

The product remaining in the stillA (usually impure lowwines) Will be drawn off bya proper valve or cock, a.,to a return with new high Wines, in case it be suciently valuable, or y -2. The combination of the air-pump B, pipe a H, and tub G, for the purpose substantially as described.

In Witness of said invention I have hereunto set my hand.

l EDMUND L. MORSE. Witnesses: l

WILLIAM W. HERTHEL, A GEO. l?. HERTHEL, Jr. 

